Container cover



May 8, 1934. J C. REICH 1,957,804

CONTAINER COVER Filed Jan. 16, 1955 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented May 8, 1934 PATENT OFFICE CONTAINER COVER John C. Reich, Milwaukee, Wis., assigner to Pabst Corporation, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin applicati@ January l16, 1933, serial No. 651,906

6 Claims.

- The invention relates to 'containers and more particularly to a cover construction therefor.

The general object of the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive cover construction for containers that has an interlocking connection with the container so that the cover cannot be removed except by rendering it unfit for further service so that tampering with the contents of the container during shipment will be readily rdetected by an injury to thecover.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cover for containers of bottled goods and particularly beverages such as beer, which must be protected against the effects of sunlight, the said cover extending over the top of the bottled goods and provided with anges adjacent the hand holes of the container to shield the goods from the sun.

The invention further consists in the several features hereinafter set forth and more particularly dened by claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the drawing; Fig. 1 is a plan view of a construction embodying the invention, parts being broken away;

Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view across the end of the container;

Fig. l is a detail view similar to Fig. 3 showing certain modications, parts being broken away and parts being shown in section;

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view taken on the broken line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 6 designates a container, case or box of usual construction having the bottles B therein and the usual handhole openings 7 in the upper parts o-f the end walls 8 thereof and 9 the cover.

The cover 9, formed of suitable flexible or resilient material such as cardboard, pasteboard or breboard, is a size to nt snugly Within the walls of the case 6 and preferably has depending side flanges 10 and end flanges 11 provided with end or tab portions 12, the top portion 13 of the cover, when in place, being disposed somewhat V below the top of the case and the end fianges 11 covering or shielding the handhole openings 7 as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

For securing the cover in place in the congij tainer, I have shown means for fastening the anges 11 to the adjacent Walls of the case so that the cover cannot be removed without rendering it unt for further use. In Figs. 1 to 3 this means includes a guide and retaining staple 14 secured to each end wall of the container and a locking tongue 15 cooperating therewith and with the tab portion 12 which is adapted to be .passed through said staple and provided with an opening 16 so that said tab may be pushed down through said staple and over said tongue and then, when the opening 16 registers with said tongue, spring back against the case and into interlocking engagement with said tongue. The tongue 15 it will be observed, is in the form of a separate at metal staple having a pair of prongs 17 adapted to be driven into the end Wall of the container, the tongue being fastened thereto in a downwardly inclined position to prevent removal of the tab or end portion 12 after it snaps ovei said tongue, the tab being shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 during its attachment.

Instead of forming the retaining guide and locking tongue in two separate pieces I may form them from a single piece of material as shown in Figs. i and 5, wherein a piece of sheet metal is bent to provide a U-shaped guide portion 18 and a locking tongue 19 is punched inwardly from the sheet so as to interlock with the tab portion 12 of the cover when the same is pushed down into operative position as shown in Fig. 5. In this instance the guide portion 18 has side flanges 20 secured to the end wall of the case by nails 21 or other suitable fastening means.

It has been noted that the top portion of the cover is flat and, as there is nothing substantial on it to get hold of after it has been pushed down into locked position, the end portions cannot be removed from their fastening means and the only way that the cover can be removed to get at the bottles in the container is by tearing it so that an injury of this kind to the cover during shipment will indicate a tampering with the contents of the case. By the term paper cover as used in the claims, I mean to include covers made of cardboard, paste board, fibre board or similar inaterials.

I desire it to be understood that this invention is not to be limited to any particular form or arrangement of parts except in so far as such limitations are included in the claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. The combination with a container having an open end and handholes adjacent said end, of a flat cover fitting into said open end and provided with depending portions covering said handholes, and means for securing parts of said cover to the inner sides of the container as it is applied to the same to prevent removal thereof without rendering said cover unfit for further service.

2. The combination with a container having an open end, of a destructible cover tting into said open end and provided with apertured integral depending anges, and separate fastening means secured to and on the inner side of the walls of said container and having interlocking engagement with the apertures of said anges preventing removal of said cover without rendering it uniit for further service.

3. The combination with a container having an open end, of a cover tting into saidV open en'd and provided with apertured depending flanges disposed adjacent opposite Walls of the container, a staple and a downwardly inclined locking tongue secured in each of said opposite Walls in spaced relation and cooperating with the respective iianges to form a non-removable interlocking connection therewith.

4. The combination of a container having an open end, of a cover of tearable material having a at top portion tting into said open end and apertured depending anges disposed adjacent opposite walls of the container, and fastening means secured to each of said walls of said container on the inside thereof including a guide part and a locking tongue integral with said guide part and engageable in the aperture of an adjacent flange.

5. The combination with a container having an open end, of a cover of destructible material tting into said open end Vand provided with apertured depending flanges, and fastening means secured to the walls of said container on the inside thereof, including a guide and retaining part and a locking tongue for non-removable interlocking engagement with said apertured anges.

6. The-combination with a container having an open end, of a coverof flexible sheeting material tting Yinto said `open end and having a flat top portion, andyapertured depending flanges disposed adjacent opposite Walls of the container, and fastening means secured to each of said walls of said container on the inside thereof, including a guide and retaining part and a locking tongue for nonremovable interlocking engagement with saidadjacent iiange. i Y

J. C. REICH. 

